Angels To Fly
by TheSlytherinFromDistrictFour
Summary: Annie Cresta was mad. No wait- scratch that. She was broken. The games changed everyone, but they changed Annie the most. Her deep sea green eyes watched the man beside her carefully, timidly, absorbing every little detail. Had he been here every day? He's the one who'd helped her reawaken, though she wasn't ever really back. {starting from the end of Annie's games.}
1. Chapter 1

The anxiety was overwhelming. He didn't think Johanna's tribute could swim. He sincerely _hoped _Johanna's tribute couldn't swim.

It came down to the two of them; Johanna's tribute; who's name he thought was Birch, or some other kind of tree, and broken little Annie Cresta.

The water was freezing, Annie's lips were blue. Her finger tips were blue. No doubt her icy submerged toes were blue also.

"Come on." He whispered, staring at the screen.

It was only him and Johanna, left in the room. Johanna snorted as her tribute went under again, muttering, "Idiot."

She didn't care what happened to the boy.

Finnick cared about his tribute.

It was unusual, for a mentor to care so much about his tribute. But this..this was different. He wanted her to win.

He _needed_ her to win.

They were out of supplies, sponsers, and almost out of hope. Annie had clearly given up already. She had given up a week ago, when Pier was...murdered.

Beheaded. Decapitated. Call it what you want, but either way it was awful.

It replayed in Finnick's head, the horror, the unrealistic amount of blood.

He watched Annie's broken sea green eyes, which were once lively. Now they just looked broken.

They had destroyed her innocence.

The arena was silent- both tributes had disappeared underwater.

There was a shriek, and Finnick panicked. His eyes were glued to the screen, staying awake on an utterly huge amount of caffeine, and pure adrenaline. He was running on his own fear.

_Boom._

A cannon went off, greatly increasing Finnick's anxiety.

"And may I announce, the victor, of the 70th Annual Hunger Games, Annie Cresta!"

He was frozen.

He was completely numb.

Johanna tsked. "Shame. Poor girl, would've been happier dead."

Finnick barely heard her.

If he did, he would've certainly told her off.

But he barely heard her.

"She won." He whispered, and Johanna rolled her eyes.

"She actually won."

Annie's voice rang in his ears, things she had said directly to him. They went from when they were young, until before she went into the arena.

_I __can__'__t __swim__. _

_I __could __teach __you __the __knot__, __it__'__s __rather __simple__. _

_No__, __no__, __they__'__re __dead__, __Finn__. _

_Don__'__t __let __them __change __you__. _

_I__'__m __not __one __of __your __girls__. _

_Oh__, __shut __up__, __Finny__. _

_Those __are __for __the __horses__. _

_Aw__, __is__ the __almighty __Finnick __Odair __scared__? _

_I__'__m __not __nervous__. _

_I__'__m __lying__. __Of __course __I__'__m __nervous__, __Finn__. _

_It's okay. I'll be fine, I promise. _

She wasn't okay. She'd never be okay.

He ran. He ran, and ran, and ran, just so he could get on the hovercraft before she did.

Annie surfaced under the water, her head popping up. She looked around and up at the hovercraft, afraid.  
"I'm not dead." She said quietly, and Finnick bit his lip. Surely she knew the hovercraft was here to get her out. Surely, she wouldn't think they were here because they thought she was dead.

"I'm not dead." Annie repeated, slightly louder. Peacekeeper's decended down the ladder and grabbed both of her arms.

Finnick called for them to stop, leave her alone, let him help her.

No one seemed to hear him. Annie was pulled up the ladder, kicking and shrieking and screaming.

When they finally got her in the hovercraft, Finnick pushed them away and embraced her. She shrieked and fought for her freedom, but he didn't let her go, no matter the pain she caused him.

She was trembling, shaking so much, but not from the cold.

She eventually relaxed, only to start sobbing into his shoulder. He shushed her gently, rubbing her back.  
"I'm sorry." He whispered into her hair, but she didn't seem to be _really_ with him.

She wasn't really there, and it hurt him to see her like this.

So broken.

She never responded, and a doctor cleared his throat and said something about 'treatment', and 'Annie'.

Finnick looked at the doctor and simply shook his head, no, not now.

It was a solid ten minutes before he finally got her to stop sobbing. The occasional tear dripped down her face, and he wiped it away gently with his thumb.

"Annie," He began softly, "You're going to have to go with this man now, okay? He needs to see if you're okay."

She looked at him with those broken eyes, and didn't respond. _She__'__s __not __here__._

She wasn't really there with him, she was far away in her own little imaginative arena.

_Come on, Annie. Come back. _

He led her behind the doctor, following him.

The doctor introdouced himself- though it's not like Finnick heard him.

The doctor walked with a hazy Annie into the room; shutting the door on Finnick. Bewildered, he knocked once, twice, and then three times.

He started banging on the door, and when he heard Annie's scared whimper from inside, he stopped, and buryed his face in his hands, sliding down the wall.

He couldn't stop the tears from coming.

Someone's hand came gently down on his shoulder, and he was shaking. He looked up slightly, seeing the familar face.

Johanna.

How did she get in here?

And why?

She looked much different when she wasn't teasing him, insulting him, or making sarcastic remarks.

It was different, almost weird.

She almost looked... _sympathetic__. _

"Jo." He muttered, wiping his eyes.

She just nodded and sighed.

"Why are you here?"

There was a long pause before she gave an honest reply.

"Because you're the closest thing I have to a friend. And you're hurting. And I don't like it."

He layed his hand on her shoulder, and then embraced her gently.

"Jo?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my best friend."

The corners of Johanna's lips curved up in a smile.

"I know, Finnick. I know."


	2. Chapter 2

"Can I see her?"

The hopefullness in his voice was easily detirmined.

It had been the longest hour of Finnick's life, and he had been sitting outside the door, worrying, the whole time.

"I don't think that's the best idea, , for her mental s-"

He was already gone, the white door shutting carefully behind him.

"Hey." He whispered quietly, turning around. He swallowed hard when he saw her, he wasn't about to breakdown. That wouldn't help anything.

Annie was sitting, her knees drawn to her chest, her head resting on her knees. She was shaking again, trembling, her small form curled up like that.

"Ann..."

He sat down silently on the bed, moving slowly, trying not to scare her.

She let out an involuntarily whimper, but didn't move.

He couldn't help feeling that this was his fault. But what can he do about it?

She was broken beyond repair.

Out of nowhere, Annie moans, clutching her head in her hands. She seemed as if in pain- but there were no visable wounds.

Finnick tried to pry her hands off of her head, tried to see what was wrong, but she just let out a tiny shriek, her expression twisting into a pained one.

"Shh, Ann, what's wrong?"

She stood up, clutching her stomach, and started to run to the bathroom.

She didn't make it that far.

Annie Cresta threw up blood all over the Capitol's white carpet floor.

They had told him the extentions of her injuries were mental. She wasn't supposed to be hurt physically.

_So __what __the __hell __was __this__?_

Finnick panicked. He shushed her and held her, and led her to the bathroom, where she threw up blood again, in the toilet. He held her long, thick dark hair out of the way, and rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

Something was definatly way wrong.

It hurt him to see his angel like this, so fragile and broken.

Annie was merely crying now, and Finnick flushed the toliet, gathering her in an embrace.

"I-I'm sorry." She whispered through her tears, and Finnick shook his head.

"Shh, no it's okay, everything's okay."

Nothing was okay.

Someone was going to get hurt for this, and it would probably be that …. excuse of a doctor.

Of course her injuries were mental.

It's not as if she was just coughing up blood.

Finnick shook his head at his own mental sarcasm, and held Annie tighter as she clung to his shirt, soaking it with her tears.

He reached and pressed a silver button, labeled 'Doctor.' Finnick hoped it would call the doctor in.

When her tears finally slowed, he kissed her forehead and murmured, "I'll be right back. I promise. Just stay here."

She nodded and he stood up, walking back into the bedroom just as the door swung open. The Doctor.

Finnick stopped and pointed at the thrown up blood, staining the Capitol's exqusite carpet.

"What the hell is this?"

The other man shrugged, and looked away, knowing what was coming next. Finnick stepped closer, glaring.

"What. The. Hell. Is. This?"

His anger was quickly increasing, and this wasn't going to turn out good if he didn't get an answer soon.

The doctor turned, and looked him straight in the eye. Finnick thought he would get an actual answer for a moment. Of course he was wrong.

"I don't know."

Finnick's glare hardened. "You said the extent of her injuries were mental. This, is not mental."

The doctor swallowed. He could tell Finnick wasn't happy, and that wasn't changing until he got a practical answer.

"I don't know. Everything was going fine."

Lies. They were all lies.

"You're a liar."

"Everything was fine until now. Her medication is over there, it was working." He managed to keep a calm, level voice, unlike Finnick, whose tone of voice was raising.

"Medication? Why the hell is she on medication?" His voice was raised, almost a yell. He knew, first hand, medication wouldn't solve the wounds of the arena. It wouldn't stop the nightmares. It was probably the problem!

"She's having flashbacks and breakdowns, and hallucinations. She's gone insane, we're trying to help her."

That was going a_ mile_ too far. Finnick had the doctor grabbed by the collar of his shirt, creating an atmosphere of fear in the room.

"She's not insane, do you hear me?" He growled, and the doctor looked away. Finnick only tightened his grip.

"Finn?" A tiny voice came from behind him, and he let go of the doctor, turning around, his anger shattering.

"Annie...what are you doing in here? Is something wrong?" He could see the glint of slight fear in her eyes, and his heart nearly broke then.

"I just missed you."

Again. She shattered his heart _again_.

He didn't know those would be last words she spoke for a long time. If he did, surely he would've done more than gather her in an embrace and murmur, "I missed you too."

He let the doctor disappear. Nothing else mattered any longer, it was just the two of them. And he wanted to keep it that way, forever.

He didn't let go of her, not for a long time. And she didn't mind. He didn't let go until she yawned quietly, closing her eyes. He then asked if she was tired, and when she looked down and nodded, he led her back to the bed in the middle of the room.

She layed down, and then looked up at him and patted the space next to her. His lips curve up in an amused smile and he pretends to think about it, before smirking and crawling in the bed next to her.

She snuggles up close to him, hiding her face in his shoulder. He wraps his arms around her, just as she starts to drift off.


	3. Chapter 3

She whimpered.

Annie whimpered in her sleep, and then her whimpers turn into shrieks.

Finnick shoots awake, and tries to calm her, tries to wake her up. She screams again, tossing and turning, shrieking and gasping. Her eyes finally fly open and she clings to him, her hand clutching onto his shirt.

He shushs her gently, rubbing her back. She's shaking again, from fear. He can only wonder what her night terrors are of, but he does have a good guess.

The doctor had told him she didn't have nightmares; she had night terrors. Finnick didn't see what the difference was until he'd experienced her during one of them.

Night terrors were worse, he detirmined, much worse.

It wasn't unusual, much less unheard of, for a victor of the games to have often, frightning nightmares.

But this... this was awful.

Annie took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm herself, and him, down, as she could tell she'd frightned him.

"Bad dream?" He said softly, and she nodded slightly, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked her gently, quietly, and she shook her head, loosening her grip on his shirt. "Alright. Go back to sleep."

Annie looked up at him with those wide, broken sea green eyes, and he swallowed, a sudden wave of sadness flowing over him. He couldn't help but blame himself for shattering her.

He could make out the glint of fear in her eyes, he knew her too well.

"Don't worry." He whispered, holding her a bit tighter, "I'll protect you."

This seemed to calm her, and Annie buried her face in his chest, closing her eyes, having his protection from the horrors of her night terrors.

She fell asleep soon after, but he held her until morning light.

In the morning, when he was sure she was safe, he laid her down and wrote her a quick note, before walking silently out of the room.

Haymitch was stepping through the hallway quietly, probably on his way to the bar downstairs.

Finnick stopped him, biting the inside of his lip.

"Is she alright?" Haymitch asked him and he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I..I just..don't know what to do anymore."

He was watching the Finnick Odair finally break, right in front of him.

"Just give her time."

This was as close to sober the older mentor would get. Finnick leaned against the wall, covering his face with his hands for a minute before dropping them and looking at Haymitch.

"It's awful. You know she has night terrors? And they have her on medication?"

"Medication for what?"

Finnick's lip curled up in disgust at the bald doctor on his mind.

"He said she was _mentally __insane__." _

Haymitch raised an eyebrow at Finnick's profound hatred for the doctor.

"I wouldn't say _insane__..._maybe a little bit crazy though, you've got to admit." His voice was light, almost joking...but Finnick didn't find this funny in the slightest bit.

Green eyes narrowed in a glare, his voice sharp and bitter. "No. Not insane, or crazy, or anything." He nearly spat, and Haymitch looked at him, slightly surprised at his bitter defense of the newest victor.

Finnick then turned on his heel, exhaling and heading back down the hall to Annie's room.

The door creaked open, and by the time he stepped in, Annie was still curled up asleep.

He sat down on her bed and her eyelids fluttered, and opened. She looked up at him, and a small smile curved up the corner of his lips.

"Good morning."

There was no response, only a tiny nod as she sat up, which made his smile falter, but not fade.

She looked at him for a moment, seemingly having no memory of last night, not remembering her night terror until she looked into his eyes.

That's when the laughter started in her mind.

Snow's laughter.

Her hands instinctively flew over her ears, trying, to no attempt, to block out the awful noise. Finnick brought her closer, his brow furrowing. What was going on inside her head?

She flinched away from his touch, but he didn't let go of her.

The beheading replayed in her head, over, and over again, the blood splattering, Cresula laughing as she dangled the head in front of Annie's face, laughed at Annie's screams...

Finnick's soothing words, his comforting voice were muffled by the laughter of Snow, the laughter of Cresula, the slicing of flesh, making her whimper outloud.

His words eventually broke through to her and Annie very slowly relaxed in his arms.

He rubbed her back gently until she fully relaxed, and then gently released her.

"Are you okay now?"

He didn't know why he still bothered to speak aloud, he knew she wouldn't ever respond. But the silence secretly depressed him, it saddened him a lot to not hear her voice.

She was alive, he reminded himself to be greatful for the fact that she was alive.

Annie gave a small nod, and he smiled for her sake only. "Good. Do you want breakfast?"

He felt her shoulders raise in a slight shrug, and he took her hand, standing up. "Come on." She stood up and followed him quietly, shyly, out of the room, her eyes downcast and avoiding the glances of others. She trailed behind him into a tiny cafeteria, followed him to the line where she was to pick up breakfast.

Finnick picked up a stack of pancakes soon, but Annie turned down everything, making him sigh. "Ann, you've got to eat _something__." _

What she did next made him smile, made him think of when she was less fragile. Annie placed nothing but steaming turkey bacon on her plate, causing Finnick to chuckle and shake his head. "Alright. Good enough. Let's sit?"


End file.
